Procyon - the star running in front of the dog

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Brighter than the Sun, double, quite close to the Earth, the second "dog" star in the sky - Procyon. It was noticed by people of antiquity, and in the recent past has changed the established laws of modern astrophysics.

Why the star Procyon is called that way

Procyon is one of the brightest stars visible from the surface of our planet even to the naked eye. This property made it possible to pay attention to the celestial landmark even to the inhabitants of the ancient states - Babylon and Egypt. Sirius, the capital, brightest star (alpha) in the constellation Canis Major, also belonged to the objects of their veneration.

The star Procyon owes its name to the Greeks.

Its name originates from the Greek. προ κύων (Prokyōn), which means “in front of the dog.”

"Wikipedia"

Procyon is the predecessor of Sirius in the night sky. The rotation of the earth is the cause. Despite a more direct ascension path above the horizon at northern latitudes, it appears earlier due to its declination towards this part of the world and its more eastern location.

A curious fact - the raccoon is the namesake of Procyon. Histhe international scientific name is Procyon which means "pre-dog".

"Dog Star" Little Canis

The entrenched name "dog" is explained by the constellation in which the star Procyon is located - it is the alpha of Canis Minor just like Sirius is the Greater one.

Small Dog (Latin name - Canis Minor, CMi) - a combination of luminaries known since ancient times, included in the Almagest catalog, dating back to about 140 AD. Already in it, Procyon is noted as the brightest star of Canis Minoris. The constellation has several border neighbors - Gemini, Hydra, Unicorn, Cancer. Relative to the Milky Way, Canis Minor is symmetrical to the constellation Orion.

Ancient celestial maps depict both star dogs as companions of the hunter Orion, despite the fact that the myths of Ancient Greece mention only the Great Dog. One of the dogs of Actaeon, a hunter and glorious warrior, the grandson of Apollo, is considered the prototype of the Small Dog. It was torn apart by its own dogs while in the form of a deer at the behest of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and the patroness of the living world.

There is also a mythical version of the origin of the star Procyon itself. She is considered Mary (otherwise - Maira), the faithful dog of the daughter of the first winemaker Ikaria, who was killed by Athenian shepherds. She was the one who found the body. There is an opinion that Mera has been turned into Sirius.

Winter Triangle, Egyptian Cross and Winter Circle

The star Procyon refers to such a celestial phenomenon as asterism,called the Winter Triangle. Asterism is considered a group of luminaries that stand out in the sky among others, but do not belong to the constellations, although the concepts are often mistakenly used as synonyms.

The winter triangle united two "dog" stars and Orion's alpha - Betelgeuse. Those in the Northern Hemisphere can observe it from autumn to early spring, but the asterism is best seen at the same time of the year - in winter.

Often, a couple more luminaries are added to the Winter Triangle: Fact, alpha in the constellation Dove, and the brightest in Korma, its zeta Naos. This asterism is known as the Egyptian Cross. An interesting fact is that Korma became an independent constellation only in 1752, after the division of one large one, called the Argo Ship, into three parts (the remaining two are Sails and Kiel).

All vertices of the Winter Triangle are part of another larger seasonal asterism. The stars Procyon and Sirius, together with six other luminaries, form a circle. Betelgeuse is the conditional center of the Winter Circle. This group of stars, like the triangle of the same name, is located in the equatorial part of the celestial sphere and is visible in the same seasons.

How far Procyon is from Earth

The star is known to be very close to our planet and the solar system. It can be reached in 11.41 light years, having overcome 3.5 parsecs during this time.

Determining the distance to space objects and proof of the rotational motion of our planet around the Sunare inseparable from the concept of "parallax". Even the term itself is an integral part of the off-system unit of measure - the parsec.

Parsec (Russian designation: pc; international: pc) is a non-systemic distance measurement unit common in astronomy, equal to the distance to an object whose annual trigonometric parallax is equal to one arc second. The name is formed from the abbreviations of the words "parallax" and "second".

"Wikipedia"

The parallax of a star (tied to the annual cycle) is the change in the coordinates of the star, due to the displacement of the observer relative to it (which occurs due to the rotation of the Earth around the Sun). Its annual value is equal to the degree of the angle at which the semi-axis of the Earth's orbit is visible from the location of a particular star.

The parallax of Procyon is 286.05 arc seconds (+/- 0.81).

Procyon A and Procyon B

Procyon is a binary star. He became the second luminary to whom an invisible natural satellite was attributed without special equipment (not yet invented in 1806). This discovery was surprising for its time, since even powerful telescopes only partially facilitate the task of observing it.

The main star of Procyon belongs to the spectral class F, but is too bright even for it. It is much larger and brighter than the center of the solar system, therefore it is classified as a subgiant. Stars of this type have already started the process of expansion, as the combination of helium and hydrogen inside it has completed.

As a result of this, the celestial body must exceedoriginal dimensions by several tens of times (according to forecasts - from 8 to 15), and also acquire an orange or red tone. These changes will take millions of years. However, the assumptions are very imprecise and preliminary estimates vary. The term can be from ten to one hundred million years. Similar predictions apply to the Sun as well.

In the second half of the summer of 2004, more than a month-long cycle of observations of Procyon A was completed. The MOST orbital telescope was used for diagnostics. The purpose of the research was to check the fluctuations in the luminosity of a star seen from the surface of our planet. However, the data were not confirmed, which led to a reassessment of the formed laws of helioseismology and a revision of theoretical assumptions about the formation of celestial bodies of this type.

Procyon B is about the same distance from Procyon A as Uranus is from the Sun (within sixteen astronomical units). It is a dim dwarf with a white glow. It is very difficult to see it in non-professional optics.

When, where and how best to observe

The brightest stars of Canis Minor are its alpha and beta - Procyon and Gomeiza (otherwise - Gomeisa). The most favorable conditions for observing the entire group of stars and the brightest of them, respectively, on the territory of Russia are provided in the southern regions of the country in the second and third winter months. However, celestial phenomena are visible throughout the entire area of the Russian Federation and Ukraine.

Procyon is more distant, but brighter than the Sun by 7.5 times, so you can see it withoutspecial optics. The more professional the observation equipment, the better it will be possible to see both the luminary and the constellation in which it is included.

Star Procyon in astrology

Astrologers consider Procyon a sign of we alth, success, luck and glory. Astrologers of the Middle Ages attributed magical properties to it. The stone of the star is agate, the plant is buttercup.

Procyon refers to the so-called bright stars, which have a special effect on those who have them in the astrological birth chart:

• The fates of these people are different from most, they have a lot of "wonderful accidents".
• They are able to influence not only their own lives and loved ones, but many people.
• The star gives the life of the person whom it patronizes, a certain program and a higher goal.
• People with bright stars in their horoscopes are under the vigilant gaze of higher powers.
• If such a person can cope with self-love and his own ego, he will provide himself with protection from evil.
• In the event that such a star is one with the planet or cusp (boundary) of the astrological house for the shortest period - from 1 to 4 minutes - its influence on a person becomes incomparably strong, capable of changing his entire destiny, outlined by the rest of the personal horoscope. The status of such a bright star is helmsman.

The bright star Procyon appears in 260of the sign Cancer. In this case, she endows her ward with powerful energy of vital activity, the ability to heal,effective purposefulness. In the case of participation in hostilities, a person gets a better chance of survival due to his own faith and innate vitality.